in.gr (Angeliki Stellaki – 18/03/2016)

In one of the most talked about documentaries at the 18th Thessaloniki Film Festival, Angelique Kourounis tries to understand what is in the mind of the Golden Dawn supporter next door. And her report is shocking and worrying.

“How can one be impartial in my place? My partner in life is Jewish, one of my sons is gay, the other is an anarchist and I am a left wing feminist, the daughter of immigrants. If Golden Dawn comes to power, our only problem will be which wagon to put us on.” From the start of the documentary, the director (and correspondent for several French media outlets, such as TV5 Monde), clarifies why -as the title of the documentary states; Golden Dawn isn’t just something to concern us all, but for her is also a “personal affair’.

For years the journalist has been going to Golden Dawn demonstrations (Kourounis insists that we should be calling it a neo-Nazi party), entering the homes of supporters of the organization and attending local meetings, trying to determine how its members and voters think, and why support for the party has been growing.

Among other things, she confirms the relationship of George Roupakias, the killer of Pavlos Fyssas, with the leadership of Golden Dawn (her camera records him multiple times at rallies), highlights the connection of Golden Dawn with Nazism, and the racist views hiding under the guise of “nationalism.”

She also visits the houses of members and voters of Golden Dawn, talking to them, and trying to understand. From elderly people who have nothing to eat and go to soup kitchens “only for Greeks,” even though they declare themselves Left, to people who believe that Greece is exempt from political discourse and others who have in their libraries copies of “Mein Kampf” by Hitler, who declare that they have helped children in Africa, but argue that they should not come here “to dilute our colour.”

Speaking after the screening of the documentary, Angelique Kourounis admitted that it was not at all easy to make, but notes that “personal resistance was necessary, because resistance is a way of life.” She insists that after the results of the German local elections -where the xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) won unprecedented votes, “entering” the Regional Assemblies and the three federal states where polls were held – this resistance is necessary.

She also says that she never lied about what she wanted to do. She never said she wanted to make a documentary for Golden Dawn, “I told them that I wanted to figure out what they think, and that is what I did,” she says. She notes that she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t afraid, but insists that “you cannot let fear defeat you, because then you lose.”

[Translated from Greek]